New insights into human stress may promise advances in treating and coping with anxiety related disorders, trauma caused by war or natural disasters, and addiction—or even for combating the effects of aging. Stressful situations trigger “fight-or-flight” mechanisms among vertebrates, based on ancient evolutionary adaptations. Building on earlier theoretical work, today’s researchers are revealing how genetic, developmental, psychological, environmental, and social factors may affect individual stress-response mechanisms. Cutting-edge investigations, showcased in this seminar, are helping to explain how stress affects the brain, the immune system, cellular aging, behavior, and many other aspects of human health.
Welcome
Chief Executive Officer, AAAS, and Executive Publisher of the journal Science
Watch the welcoming remarks in streaming RealVideo
Listen to the welcoming remarks as a downloadable MP3 or as streaming Real audio
Keynote Lecture
John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University
Stress-Related Disorders and Society
Watch the lecture in streaming RealVideo
Listen to Sapolsky’s lecture as a downloadable MP3 or as streaming Real audio
View Sapolsky’s presentation
Questions & Answers: Robert Sapolsky
Watch the question & answer session in streaming RealVideo
Listen to the question & answer session as a downloadable MP3 or as streaming Real audio
The Biology of Stress
Bill and Gayle Cook Professor of Biology and Director, Rice Institute for Biomedical Research
Protein Misfolding and Neurodegenerative Disorders
Watch the lecture in streaming RealVideo
Listen to Morimoto’s lecture as a downloadable MP3 or as streaming Real audio
View Morimoto’s presentation
Associate Professor, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, and Immunology Program; Director of Research, Center on Stress & Health, Stanford University
A Hassle a Day May Keep The Doctor Away: Short-Term Stress and the Augmentation of Immune Function
Watch the lecture in streaming RealVideo
Listen to Dhabhar’s lecture as a downloadable MP3 or as streaming Real audio.
View Dhabhar’s presentation
Assistant Professor, Neuroscience, Psychology and Public Health, University of California, Berkeley
Genetics and the Stress Connection
Watch the lecture in streaming RealVideo
Listen to Francis’s lecture as a downloadable MP3 or as streaming Real audio
View Francis’ presentation
Questions & Answers: Richard I. Morimoto, Firdaus Dhabhar, and Darlene Francis
Watch the Q&A Session in streaming RealVideo
Listen to the Q&A Session as a downloadable MP3 or as streaming Real audio
Social Factors, Behavior, and Physical Impacts
Director, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Walter H. Annenberg Professor of Natural Sciences, University of Pennsylvania
Stress, Poverty, and Brain Development
Watch the lecture in streaming RealVideo
Listen to Farah’s lecture as a downloadable MP3 or as streaming Real audio
View Farah’s presentation
Research Career Scientist, Medical Research Division, Tampa Veterans Hospital; Director, Center for Preclinical and Clinical Research on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder; and Professor of Psychology, Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, University of South Florida
From the African Savannas to the Bench and into the Clinic: A Translational Approach to the Study and Treatment of Emotional Trauma
Watch the lecture in streaming RealVideo Listen to Diamond’s lecture as a downloadable MP3 or as streaming Real audio Download Diamond’s presentation as a PDF file or as an Internet Explorer-friendly ZIP archive
Chief, Laboratory of Clinical and Translational Studies, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health
Stress, Addiction, and Relapse Behaviors
Watch the lecture in streaming RealVideo
Listen to Heilig’s lecture as a downloadable MP3 or as streaming Real audio
View Heilig’s presentation
Questions & Answers: Martha J. Farah, David M. Diamond, and Markus Heilig
Watch the lecture in streaming RealVideo
Listen to the Q&A session as a
downloadable MP3 or as streaming Real audio
Psychology and Future Treatments
University Professor and Henry and Lucy Moses Professor of Science, Center for Neural Science, New York University
Fearful Brains in an Anxious World
Watch the lecture in streaming RealVideo
Listen to Ledoux’s lecture as a downloadable MP3 or as streaming Real audio View LeDoux’s presentation
Professor of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health and Foundations Fund for Research in Psychiatry Professor, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University
The Stressor Criterion in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Some Background, Issues, Evidence, and Implications
Watch the lecture in streaming RealVideo
Listen to Dohrenwend’s lecture as a downloadable MP3 or as streaming Real audio.
View Dohrenwend’s presentation
Provost and Professor of Neurobiology, Harvard University
Watch the lecture in streaming RealVideo
Listen to Hyman’s lecture as a
downloadable MP3 or as streaming Real audio
View Hyman’s presentation
Questions & Answers: Joseph LeDoux, Bruce P. Dohrenwend, and Steven E. Hyman
Watch the lecture in streaming RealVideo
Listen to the Q&A session as a
downloadable MP3 or as streaming Real audio
Closing Remarks
Chief Executive Officer, AAAS, and Executive Publisher of the journal Science
Watch the closing remarks in streaming RealVideo
Listen to Leshner’s closing remarks as a
downloadable MP3 or as streaming Real audio
Past Abelson Advancing Science Seminars
“New Horizons in Polar Science” [30 October 2007]
“Microbes, Minerals, and the Environment” [26 October 2006]
“New Directions in Health”: The Global Burden of Chronic Disease [8 December 2005]
The Abelson Advancing Science Seminar Series Advisory Committee
AAAS thanks the Abelson Advancing Science Seminar Series Advisory Committee whose support was critical in developing the 2007 program. Members included colleagues and family members of Dr. Abelson who helped preserve his vision.
John Abelson
Ellen Abelson Cherniavsky
Mr. and Mrs. John P. Cherniavsky
Neva Cherniavsky
Stephen P.A. Fodor
Claire Fraser-Liggett
Maxine Frank Singer